James Hillier sues sister Victoria Martin over control of SA burger chain Nordburger

The ownership of an Adelaide burger chain worth millions of dollars has become the centre of a family dispute with the lot playing out in the courts.

Nordburger has four outlets across Adelaide.

A family drama with the lot has spilled into the Federal Court with the fate of a popular Adelaide burger chain hanging in the balance.

Businessman James Hillier is suing his sister Victoria Martin over the valuable Nordburger chain, which has four restaurants across Adelaide.

In Federal Court documents released to The Advertiser, Mr Hillier claims that he was cut out of the business, which was founded on the site of a fruit and vegetable shop on The Parade in Norwood.

In her own application to strike out her brother’s claim, Ms Martin labelled the lawsuit “ambiguous and embarrassing”, as well as fundamentally deficient.

Victoria Martin, pictured at Norwood Nordburger, labelled the lawsuit “ambiguous and embarrassing”, as well as fundamentally deficient.

Mr Hillier claims that in 2011 he had a 50 per cent interest in the Norwood Central Market business with Ms Martin having a 20 per cent interest and Mr Hillier’s accountant holding a 30 per cent interest.

Mr Hillier and Ms Martin discussed the performance of the business over the phone on a near daily basis.

In June 2012 the business begun floundering and the decision was made to convert the premises into a Vietnamese restaurant.

That plan failed, with a burger restaurant and frozen yoghurt outlet a backup option.

Mr Hillier’s statement of claim alleges that he created the system for the business which was a foray into the emerging “better burger” market.

Among the elements Mr Hillier says he created were the recipes, the branding of the sites and the system producing the hamburger and running the business.

The documents allege that in December 2012 a joint venture agreement was entered into, in which the first Nordburger would be opened on The Parade – and Mr Hillier, Ms Martin and the accountant would hold the same amount of interest as in the initial business.

The agreement was varied to reflect Mr Hillier gifting 10 per cent interest to his sister and Ms Martin acquiring a five per cent interest from the accountant for $70,000.

Ms Martin is listed as the sole director and shareholder of Nordburger.

In April 2016, Mr Hillier claims he was invited to a meeting with his sister and her lawyers.

He said he was told there were accusations of impropriety by the accountant and he would be required to hand over his email address and password so the lawyers could scrutinise their communications.

As part of the meeting Mr Hillier said he signed an agreement which meant he would relinquish any claim to control over the business.

After the agreement was signed, Mr Hillier was paid a weekly consultant fee of as much as $4000 from the profits of Nordburger, while Ms Martin was reported to have paid herself a $200,000 annual salary.

The court documents show that Mr Hillier’s legal team is arguing that the agreement was both economic duress and unconscionable conduct on his sister’s behalf.

The payments to Mr Hillier came to an end in November 2019 when Ms Martin allegedly accused him of starting another business and breaching their agreement.

The case is scheduled for a five-day hearing before Justice Natalie Charlesworth in June this year.